Kevin Durant tired of questions about the Thunder

Want Warriors news in your inbox? Sign up for the free DubsDaily newsletter.

OAKLAND — The questions kept coming, and eventually Kevin Durant became tired of answering them.

The Warriors (41-12) play against the Oklahoma City Thunder (30-24) on Tuesday at Oracle Arena, so that meant more inquiries regarding Durant facing the former team he left via free agency in the 2016 offseason. After Durant was asked how much he stays in touch with his former teammates, the Warriors’ forward started playing the reporter role.

“I got a question,” Durant said. “Why do you care so much?”

Advertisement

Well, plenty of intrigue centers on Durant’s defection from the Thunder, his soured relationship with Russell Westbrook and if tonight’s game might produce more fireworks. All of those storylines have bothered Durant.

“It’s not even about the game,” Durant said. “It’s about the personal [stuff]. Can we talk about basketball for a second?”

To subscribe to the Planet Dubs podcast, click here.

Durant said he personally felt the shift “after the last game” when the Warriors lost in Oklahoma City, 108-91, on Nov. 22, 2017. Then, Durant and Westbrook chirped, butted heads and collected double technical fouls before a Thunder crowd that booed Durant every time he touched the ball.

Yet, that hardly compares to the 2016-17 season when Durant faced louder jeers with signs of cupcakes, a reference to the nickname Westbrook had for players he considered soft. As Warriors forward Draymond Green noted, “He was over the initial shock of it all. That’s the only difference.”

“The more times you play against them and also some of the players on that team now I don’t really know them that well,” Durant said. “Most of the guys that I played with on that team are gone.”

“I’m already excited to play. I don’t get up for marquee games. I try to get better every time I step on the floor. That’s what I’m excited about. It’s not a routine. We don’t play them as much,” Durant said. “Every game to me is an opportunity to step on the court and do what I love to do the most and perfect my craft and get better. That’s what I’m out there for, to get better and help my team win.”